The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)

     On Sunday, November 10, 2013, I visited the Sultan Ahmet Camii with my friend Hande (who made a great tour guide as she's Turkish and works in the area). The mosque is known worldwide as the Blue Mosque. Sultan Ahmet I had the Blue Mosque built with the intention of surpassing its neighbor the Aya Sofia in grandeur and beauty. The exterior of the mosque does rival that of its neighbor visually. It features prominent curves, six minarets (a tall spire with an conical crown), and the biggest courtyard of all the Ottoman mosques. The interior features thousands of blue tiles, which gave the mosque its nickname, 260 windows, and big central prayer space. Upon entering the courtyard, you see the main entrance where only worshipers can enter. Tourists use a separate door on the side of the building. To keep its sacred atmosphere, admission to the mosque is actually controlled.
     Once you enter, your shoes are removed, and you are looked at to see if your dress attire is suitable to enter (ex. no showing of the legs). The interior of the mosque is definitely nice to gaze upon, with the its ceiling designs and tile designs that catch your eye. The most important part of the interior would have to be the mihrab. It is located in front of the prayer area. It is made of sculpted marble with a double inscriptive panel above it. It is also surrounded by many windows. To the right of the mihrab is the minber, or pulpit, where the imam stands when he is delivering his sermon at the time of noon prayer on Fridays or on holy days. As for Ahmet, who ascended to the throne at the age of 13, he died one year after the mosque was constructed at the age of 27. His tile-encrusted tomb rest in a separate building on the north side facing Sultanahmet Park.

Below I have a short video of the mosque, along with a bit of the spice market that Hande and I visited after.